WINNER OF THE INDIE BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE

Mrs Death tells her intoxicating story in this life-affirming fire-starter of a novel

Mrs Death has had enough. She is exhausted by her job and now seeks someone to unburden her conscience to.

She meets Wolf, a troubled young writer, who - enthralled by her stories - begins to write Mrs Death's memoirs. As the two reflect on the losses they have experienced (or facilitated), their friendship flourishes. All the while, despite her world-weariness, Death must continue to hold humans' fates in her hands, appearing in our lives when we least expect her . . .

"A modern-day Pilgrim's Progress leavened with caustic wit . . . This is not light-hearted stuff, yet Godden has produced a miraculously light-hearted novel . . . an elegant, occasionally uproarious, danse macabre" - * Guardian *

"Dark at times - with compelling stories about miscarriages of justice, murder and racial oppression - it is nonetheless celebratory and life-affirming, aglow with love, fortitude and compassion" - * Mail on Sunday *

"A witty, angry, warm and elemental combination of poetry and prose . . . an exhilarating combination of allegory, poetry and very real fury" - * Guardian *